Frank Rice

January 31, 1929 – July 14, 2026

Frank Austin Rice was born to Harvey Rice and Lillie Milton Rice in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He spent his early years in the rural town of Walker, Louisiana where he enjoyed the active outdoor life of farming and country living along with his younger brother Mac. At age nine, Frank professed his Christian faith, an experience that set the course of his adult life.

Frank started college at Louisiana State University but after two years enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in October of 1948. He was assigned to Rhein-Main Air Force Base in Frankfurt, Germany in 1950 where he served as a photographer with the WWII Occupational Forces until his honorable discharge as a Staff Seargent in August 1952.

In Germany , Frank met his wife, Margarete Kleinstück. They married in a civil service in Frankfurt, and a wedding at the Berlin Airlift Memorial Chapel at Rhein Main Air Base, Germany in August 1952. After a honeymoon in Switzerland, the couple sailed for America on the SS United States, settling in Pineville, Louisiana, where Frank completed his undergraduate degree at Louisiana College in 1954. They welcomed daughter Margarete during this time.

In August 1954, Frank moved his family to Berkeley, California where he enrolled at Golden Gate Theological Seminary. He earned the Bachelor of Divinity degree in 1957, and Master of Theology degree in 1960. During his time in California Rev. Rice pastored two churches, helping to establish and build El Verano Baptist Church. He was commissioned as a 1st Lieutenant in the Air Force Reserves as a chaplain and called to active duty in March of 1959.

Chaplain Rice served as a base chaplain at Wright Patterson AFB, Ohio, where daughter Virginia was born, followed by tours in Rhein-Main, Germany; Nebraska; Japan; New Jersey; Arkansas; Udorn, Thailand; Wyoming, and Ramstein, Germany. He completed his military career as Command Chaplain at Scott AFB, Illinois, retiring in June of 1985.

After retirement, Frank and Margarete took a road trip on the Blue Ridge Parkway, stopping at points of interest along the way. After a day of exploring Charlottesville and an evening at the Ashlawn opera, they knew they had found their home. Frank could finally have the gardens of his dreams, set up a permanent woodworking shop, and fish to his heart’s content. While he relished his pastimes, he continued to serve as guest minister in churches of the Albemarle Baptist Association. In 1992, he was called as pastor of Slate Hill Church where he served for seven years. He continued ministering as a Sunday school teacher and served on various committees at Pantops Community Church.

In their Charlottesville years, Frank and Margarete embraced the chance to travel to their beloved Switzerland and throughout Europe and the Mediterranean. Frank was an avid flower and vegetable gardener, a master woodworker and an expert fly fisherman in his passionate pursuit of Shenandoah River small mouth bass, Jackson River trout and Alaskan salmon. His daughters and grandchildren were fortunate recipients of his fine custom furniture, fences and play structures. In his later years, Frank could often be found somewhere on his property, fixing, digging, planting, clearing or building something, tending his flowers, ponds and vegetables, with a cat following closely behind and occasionally a foundling squirrel in his pocket. He was a generous, present Daddy and father-in-law. His grandchildren loved to be with their Papa, building forts and enjoying tractor rides in the yard cart. Aside from the frustration of deer destroying his hydrangeas, he found retired life to be perfect.

Our father valued personal integrity and strived to be of service to others, helping those who needed a leg up. He respected the power of words and chose them carefully. His wit and charm were present until his last days. He loved the natural world, and in his own words, “accepted nature as the handiwork of God, with thanksgiving to the Creator for its majestic beauty and the bounty it yielded”. He died peacefully in the arms of his daughters and surrounded by family.

Frank lost his beloved wife and “Schatzi” only nine weeks before his own passing, a loss he grieved deeply. He is survived by daughter Margarete Gillette and husband Tom, daughter Virginia Thompson and husband Marshall. He is also survived by his grandchildren and their families: Jason Gillette, wife Meghann and children Kayla, Austin and Lucas; Kirsten Fowler, husband Cory and children Olivia, Eli, and Fisher; Elisabeth Gillette, husband James Brice and daughter Emmeline; Joshua Gillette, wife Christi and children Canyon, Corbin and Arwen; Zachary Eustace, wife Jessica and children Caroline and Theo. Additional survivors include sister-in-law Ursula Kleinstück and ten nieces and nephews.

The family thanks the exceptional and loving care of the staff at Our Lady of Peace Assisted Living, his outstanding therapists at Functional Pathways, and his compassionate team from Hospice of the Piedmont. Thanks to Teresa Parrish for keeping him laughing.

Visitation will be at 10:00 am, followed by a celebration of life at 11:00, Tuesday, July 21 at Pantops Community Church. All are welcomed to a light lunch following the service. Interment with full military honors at Culpeper National Cemetery will be private. In lieu of flowers, donations may be given in Frank’s name to Hospice of the Piedmont, Habitat for Humanity of Charlottesville, or to the Landscaping Fund at Pantops Community Church.